Ricky Martin became a target for online bullies when he 'came out' as gay earlier this year - he has received a barrage of hateful messages on social networking site Twitter.com. The "Livin' La Vida Loca" singer revealed his homosexuality in March, before publicly thanking his fans for their support and acceptance following the revelation.

But Martin admits he has also been inundated with nasty messages over the internet. He tells U.S. TV host Larry King, "I am bullied today... It's very weird because, you know, I'm a Twitter fan. And I check my messages all the time, and you can get 100 messages of love. And you're very happy. And then you get that one message of a hater (sic) and... if you're (having) a bad day it ruins your afternoon. It's so sad that there is still hate out there."

But despite receiving the hateful posts, Martin insists he is still a big fan of social networking because it allows him to communicate with his fans. He adds, "For me, networking is amazing... (It gives you) an immediate reaction of what's going on out there."

"And in fact, when I was recording my music I would let them know what I was learning, what I was listening (to), and they would say, 'I love this, I don't.' It's very interesting. Networking is a new way. It's a new era."